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Discoveries from the Joseph Smith Papers Project: The Early Manuscripts

Robert J. Woodford

Robert J. Woodford was a retired Church Educational System instructor and an editor of The Joseph Smith Papers when this was published.

The Joseph Smith Papers Project is a multivolume work that will make available to the public more than four thousand documents related to Joseph Smith, including journals, diaries, correspondence, discourses, revelations, written history, and legal papers. This is a work of monumental proportion made possible only through the generous cooperation of the Church History Library, various universities, libraries, historical societies, and church groups who have these papers in their possession. The finished work will allow interested persons to study the original documents without having to travel to the various locations where they are housed, helping preserve these documents from the deterioration that is a natural part of researchers handling them.

The first two volumes of the Documents Series of the Joseph Smith Papers series contain over one hundred revelations, most of which are in the Doctrine and Covenants. Two colleagues and I edited these volumes, which contain revelations through 1833. Other editors are reviewing the material received after 1833. Greater access to the manuscripts and early writings has expanded our view concerning the writing, editing, and publication of the revelations. One purpose of this paper is to present a survey of some of those discoveries deemed important and interesting, with greater detail concerning them becoming available only when the volumes are published. Another purpose is to demonstrate techniques we developed that have greatly enhanced our ability to compare and date multiple documents related to single revelations.

So that all readers have a common background, the following well-documented facts are presented without any references or further discussion.

Joseph Smith rarely wrote the revelations given him but dictated them to scribes.

Joseph Smith and John Whitmer began in the summer of 1830 to arrange and copy the revelations he had already received; hence copies were made from the originals.

Early on, the manuscript revelations were also copied by Church members and missionaries, thus multiplying the number of manuscript copies.

Few original manuscript revelations can be positively identified.

Joseph Smith altered revelations to correct errors and to conform to later revealed knowledge and growth of the Church.

In November 1831, Joseph Smith and other elders of the Church decided to print the revelations in Missouri. The compilation was to be titled “A Book of Commandments for the Government of the Church of Christ” but is commonly known as the “Book of Commandments.” Joseph Smith reviewed the revelations and made corrections as needed for publication.

Publication of the Book of Commandments ended on July 20, 1833, when antagonists destroyed the press and scattered the pages of the book.

Incomplete copies of the Book of Commandments were bound by various individuals for their own use.

On September 24, 1834, the high council at Kirtland, Ohio, voted that Joseph Smith and others should assemble the revelations a second time for publication. Major editing of the revelations occurred at this time.

On August 17, 1835, the Doctrine and Covenants was presented at a conference of the Church and accepted as the word of the Lord to His people.

The 1835 edition of the Doctrine and Covenants contained seven “Lectures on Faith” and 103 revelations.

Later editions (particularly 1844, 1876, and 1981) increased the number of revelations.

The “Lectures on Faith” were deleted in the 1921 edition.

Research Method Concerning the Revelations

In preparing the revelations for the Joseph Smith Papers Project, the earliest complete manuscript of each revelation was used as the featured text, with all others listed in appropriate source notes. Sometimes it was difficult to determine which was the earliest version. In those cases we looked at known historical facts, scribes, and the text itself to make a determination. Even then, there are a handful of revelations for which we were only able to make a “best guess” as to which manuscript was earliest.

With regard to variations in text of revelations, these are often of real concern, especially if the differences are of doctrinal import. Variations are a reality, but any suitable discussion of them is beyond the scope of this paper. The published volumes discuss those variations that are significant. It is important to note that these alterations have historic value only, and the current edition of the Doctrine and Covenants is the only authorized text of these revelations.

Setting a Standard Text

More than one Book of Mormon scholar has written about the textual variations that exist between different copies of the 1830 edition of the Book of Mormon. Royal Skousen helps to answer the question of how these variations occur. The printer of the 1830 edition of the Book of Mormon would typeset one section of sixteen pages at a time (each section is called a signature). Then he would print five thousand copies of that signature, then typeset the next signature and print it, and so on. While printing off copies of a given signature, the printer would look for typos by examining one of the sheets coming off the press. After going through that sixteen—page signature, he would stop the press, correct the errors in the type, then continue printing the sheets for that signature. The uncorrected sheets that had already been printed, however, were not discarded but were used later when copies of the Book of Mormon were bound, even though some of these sheets would have contained minor errors. For some signatures, the 1830 printer interrupted the printing more than once (in one case, five times) as he continued to find typos. On the other hand, for some of the signatures, the printing was never interrupted and those signatures were the same throughout the entire press run. Skousen, in his examination of about one hundred copies of the 1830 edition, has yet to find two bound copies that are identical with respect to all these in-press changes. [1]

An article can now be written concerning similar variations found in different copies of the Book of Commandments. We have always known there are at least three different title pages in the surviving copies, but now we know there are also variations in the text. Though the variations are minor, it is important to at least establish a standard by which all other texts may be compared. The editors of the Joseph Smith Papers have selected the copy of the Book of Commandments housed in the Church History Library that was donated by Wilford Woodruff.

Text Comparison

We developed an interesting method to compare various texts of a single revelation that became known as “lineups.” We placed a line of text from the earliest document first on a page with the corresponding text from all the other documents in their proper order immediately below it, repeating the process to the end of the revelation. Example 1 is from the latter part of Doctrine and Covenants 4 and contains one manuscript and three published versions: the Book of Commandments and the 1835 and 1844 editions of the Doctrine and Covenants. The major variations occurred between the Book of Commandments and the 1835 edition of the Doctrine and Covenants. Joseph Smith headed the group working on the 1835 edition, and changes were made under his direction. Members of the Church then sustained the 1835 edition as the word of the Lord to them.

Example 1

Example 2. In the following much more complex example from a line in Doctrine and Covenants 42, six manuscript copies are compared with five published ones: PT (Painesville Telegraph, September 1831), EMS (Evening and Morning Star, July 1832), BC (Book of Commandments, July 1833), and the Doctrine and Covenants 1835 and 1844 editions. The documents are arranged with the earliest identified listed first. (The abbreviations used to identify the manuscript versions are in—house and will be given no further identification here. In the published volumes, they will be fully identified.)

The text in our current Doctrine and Covenants first appeared in the manuscript BkA, dated fall 1831. The ZC and JW manuscripts obviously copied one from the other or had a common source that may reflect an earlier, less refined text. The one noted as BCR, which was the manuscript from which EMS and BC were printed, shows later editing, which editing conforms to these printed versions. But interestingly, even though BCR is the earliest text identified, we used RWD as our featured text in this case because it includes a block of material not found in any of the others.

Dating Revelations

We are now able to date the revelations with greater precision than ever attempted before. Most of those in the Doctrine and Covenants are dated accurately, but there are some that we have found to be in error—not major, for the most part—however, still important and interesting. In the following listing of these revelations, the date given in parentheses is the one found in the current edition of the Doctrine and Covenants.

Section 10 (summer 1828). Although the two dates assigned to this revelation were first May 1829 and then summer 1828, we now feel confident that if it is not a composite of more than one revelation combined later, the correct date is April 1829, shortly after the arrival of Oliver Cowdery on April 5. Even if it is a composite, April 1829 best fits the date when it was brought together to form the revelation as we know it today.

Section 20 (April 1830). Although the essentials of section 20 were written over the of almost a year, we now know that the version found in the current printing of the Doctrine and Covenants was written April 10, 1830.

Section 23 (April 1830). This section is actually a composite of five revelations first printed in the Book of Commandments. In that book, they were dated April 6, 1830. Although that specific date was not duplicated in later printings of section 23, it is important that we now know that April 6 could not have been the date of reception, and what was printed in the Book of Commandments was in error. This removes part of the basis for the argument used by some that the location of the organization of the Church was in Manchester, not Fayette, New York.

Section 27 (August 1830 and the remainder in the following September). This section is a composite of at least two separate revelations, and the dates attached to it have varied from July through September 1830. We can say with certainty that the first part was received in the forepart of August 1830. There is no complete version extant, either manuscript or printed, before the version in the 1835 edition; however, evidence does point to September 1830 as the date for the second part.

Section 35 (December 1830). We now have sufficient evidence that this revelation was received December 7, 1830.

Section 36 (December 1830). We now know that this revelation was received December 9, 1830.

Section 40 (January 1831). The first revelation to James Covill (D&C 39) was received January 5, 1830, and we now know that this one was received the following day—January 6. We also have evidence that James Covill was a Methodist preacher, not a Baptist.

Section 42 (February 9, 1831). Students of the Doctrine and Covenants have always known that Doctrine & Covenants 42 is a composite of two revelations, one received February 9, 1831, and the other on February 23, but what is not generally known is that there is a portion of this section that has never been published and another portion that has been deleted from the printing in the Book of Commandments.

Section 48 (March 1831). We can now accurately date this section on March 10, 1831.

Section 49 (March 1831). Although the current Doctrine and Covenants dates this revelation in March 1831, we can show it was actually received May 7, 1831.

Section 50 (May 1831). The precise date of this revelation is May 9, 1831.

Section 51 (May 1831). We can now show that this revelation is dated May 20, 1831.

Section 52 (June 7, 1831). We now accept June 6, 1831, as the date of this revelation, not June 7 as in the current Doctrine and Covenants.

Section 53 (June 1831). We now date this section June 8, 1831.

Section 54 (June 1831). This section can be dated June 10, 1831.

Section 55 (June 1831). The accepted date is now June 14, 1831.

Section 56 (June 1831). We can now date this revelation June 15, 1831.

Section 63 (late in August 1831). There is evidence that this revelation was given August 30, 1831.

Section 65 (October 1831). We can now establish this date as October 30, 1831.

Section 66 (October 25, 1831). We now know the date to be October 29, 1831.

Sections 1, 67–70; a portion of section 107; and section 133. These revelations were received during a lengthy conference in the forepart of November 1831. Through extensive research, we can now show that they were received in the following order:

Section 68 (November 1831): November 1

Section 1 (November 1, 1831): November 1

Testimony of the Witnesses of the Book of Commandments: November 1

Section 67 (November 1831): November 2

Section 133 (November 3, 1831): November 3

Section 69 (November 1831): November 11

Section 107:59–100 passim (March 25, 1835): November 11

Section 70 (November 12, 1831): November 12

The Testimony of the Witnesses of the Book of Commandments was not included in the unfinished book; however, a modification of it was included in the 1835 edition of the Doctrine and Covenants as the Testimony of the Twelve Apostles. [2] Both testimonies were included in the Explanatory Introduction of the Doctrine and Covenants in the 1921 edition and all of its later printings. The Testimony of the Witnesses to the Book of Commandments was removed beginning with the 1981 edition.

Section 74 (January 1832). This is a real surprise to those who thought this revelation was received in connection with the work Joseph Smith was doing in correcting the text of the Bible. This section was actually received sometime in the last part of 1830, and not January 1832 as found in all editions of the Doctrine and Covenants. It probably stemmed from discussions about infant baptism.

Section 78 (March 1832). We now date this section March 1, 1832.

Section 79 (March 1832). This section is now dated March 12, 1832.

Section 80 (March 1832). Correct this date to March 17, 1832.

Section 81 (March 1832). March 15, 1832.

Section 84 (September 22 and 23, 1832). Doctrine & Covenants 84 has always been dated this way, but we now know the breaking point is between verses 102 and 103.

Section 95 (June 1, 1833). We now accept June 3, 1833, as the correct date.

Section 99 (August 1832). We now accept August 29, 1832, as the correct date.

Section 101 (December 16, 1833). This revelation was written on December 16 and 17, 1833.

Revelations following section 101 were received after 1833; hence they are beyond the work we have done on the revelations from 1828 to 1833.

Linking the Revelations with Historical Events

The following is only a sampling of the understanding gained when one connects the events surrounding the reception of each revelation with the message of the text.

Section 20. Question: How could a revelation written during the same month the Church was organized have information concerning presiding elders, traveling bishops, high councilors, high priests, presidents, high council, and bishops (verses 66–67) when those offices were not revealed until years later?

Answer: In editions from 1876 until 1920, there was an asterisk preceding verse 65 with an accompanying note at the bottom of the page that read: “Verses 65, 66, and 67 were added sometime after the others.” There are no manuscript versions of section 20 that include these verses, and the earliest printed version with them is the 1835 edition of the Doctrine and Covenants.

Section 45. Question: What is the relationship between Doctrine & Covenants 45 and Matthew 24, now printed in the Pearl of Great Price? With even a cursory reading, it is obvious section 45 also reports the Mount Olivet prophecy in Matthew 24.

Answer: Section 45 was received on March 7, 1831, and was not given in connection with the work Joseph Smith was doing on the Joseph Smith Translation but to counter “false reports and foolish stories” (see introduction to D&C 45). At the time, Joseph Smith was working on the text of the Old Testament, not the New Testament.

Many of the 1830–31 converts to the Church in Ohio had formerly followed Alexander Campbell in his rejection of the creeds of Christianity and his efforts to restore the ancient order of things. Known as “Disciples,” they believed that the reformations launched by Campbell would bring about the Millennium. According to Amos S. Hayden, one of the preachers and historians of the movement, “The restoration of the ancient gospel was looked upon as the initiatory movement, which, it was thought, would spread so rapidly that existing denominations would almost immediately be deorganized; that the true people, of whom it was believed Christ had a remnant among the sects, would at once, on the presentation of these evidently scriptural views, embrace them, and thus form the union of Christians so long prayed for,” which would constitute the Millennium. [3] Those Disciples who became Latter—day Saints had their faith confirmed in the imminent expectation of the Millennium, for they now believed that God had intervened and had restored the true “ancient order” through Joseph Smith.

Many of the early revelations received by Joseph Smith, including this one, dealt with eschatological matters. Latter—day Saint eschatology, with its vision of the imminent destruction of the wicked and the millennial triumph of the righteous, provided powerful reassurance in the face of opposition. The skeptical local press of the day occasionally published “false reports, lies, and fo[o]lish stories” and members of the Church “had to struggle against every thing that prejudice and wickedness could invent,” but Joseph Smith wrote that this revelation was received “to the joy of the saints,” with its thematic focus on the end times. [4]

What makes this revelation significant is that it represents another recounting of the Savior’s message to His disciples on the Mount of Olives (Matthew 24), in which the longstanding Christian controversy about the timing of these events is resolved. One view was that the predicted events had all been fulfilled in the New Testament generation; another interpretation placed them at the end of time. This revelation made clear that some of the events occurred shortly after the Savior’s death and that others would happen just prior to the Millennium. The vividness and specificity of the revelation also served to confirm the converts in their sense that they really were living in the latter, even the last, days.

However, in verses 60 and 61 of section 45 the following is revealed: “And now, behold, I say unto you, it shall not be given unto you to know any further concerning this chapter, until the New Testament be translated, and in it all these things shall be made known; wherefore I give unto you that ye may now translate it, that ye may be prepared for the things to come.” The next day, March 8, Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon began work on the New Testament, and in a matter of days they reached Matthew 24. Evidently they felt the need to communicate this portion of the Joseph Smith Translation to the Saints as soon as practicable, so a broadsheet was published and distributed. Early missionaries took copies to England, and when Franklin D. Richards first published the Pearl of Great Price in 1851, the broadsheet was included and has had a place in that volume ever since.

Sections 48 and 68. Question: How can these two revelations include text referring to the Presidency of the Church in 1831 when the Presidency of the High Priesthood was formed a year later in March 1832 and the First Presidency of the Church in March 1833?

Answer: Prior to 1835, section 48 read: “And then ye shall begin to be gathered with your families, every man according to his family, according to his circumstances, and as is appointed to him by the bishop and elders of the church, according to the laws and commandments, which ye have received, and which ye shall hereafter receive; even so: Amen” (v. 6; emphasis added). [5]

Similarly, section 68 read: “Wherefore it shall be an high priest who is worthy; and he shall be appointed by a conference of high priests” (v. 5; emphasis added). [6] Verses 16–21 also mention this presidency, but these verses were added to the revelation in March 1835. Verses 22 and 23 read: “And again, no bishop or judge, which shall be set apart for this ministry, shall be tried or condemned for any crime, save it be before a conference of high priests; and in as much as he is found guilty before a conference of high priests, by testimony that cannot be impeached, he shall be condemned or forgiven, according to the laws of the church” (emphasis added). [7] Such alterations to the revelations reflect a growing organization as the Church expanded in territory and numbers.

Section 64, verse 27. Verse 27 reads: “Behold, it is said in my laws, or forbidden, to get in debt to thine enemies.” Question: Where is this counsel found in the revelations?

Answer: It was originally part of section 42 but was later deleted. It reads: “4th How far it is the will of the Lord that we should have dealings with the wold [sic] & how we should conduct our dealings with them? Thou shalt contract no debts with them & again the Elders & Bishop shall Council together & they shall do by the directions of the spirit as it must be necessary.” [8]

Section 77. Question: Why does section 77 give interpretation only to the first eleven chapters of the book of Revelation?

Answer: On February 16, 1832, while working on the Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible, the Prophet and Sidney Rigdon received “A Vision” (see D&C 76). This revelation was given as they were revising John 5, and because the message of the twenty—ninth verse caused them “to marvel.” From the beginning of the project, they had written out each verse in its entirety. For some reason, they altered this time-consuming process in the very next chapter, and from that point onward the Joseph Smith Translation manuscript contains only new or emended text. This change enabled them to accelerate their revision of the Bible, and in the following five weeks they nearly completed work on the New Testament. On March 20 they completed the first eleven chapters of the book of Revelation. Also on that date, Joseph Smith received a revelation never published in the Doctrine and Covenants. In part it reads:

Second shall we finish the translation of the New Testament before we go to Zion or wait till we return

It is expedient saith the Lord that there be no delays and this saith the Lord for the greatest good and benefit of the church wherefore omit the translation for the present time 20 March 1832 at Hyrum. [9]

Joseph Smith wrote, “‘In connection with the translation of the Scriptures, I received the following explanation of the Revelation of St. John’” (see introduction to D&C 77). Since section 77 is dated March 1832, it likely came in the days just prior to March 20, as the two men wrestled with how to understand and correct this highly symbolic book. It includes interpretations for only the first eleven chapters because the rest of the book was corrected after the Prophet’s return from Missouri in June. Parenthetically, there is no manuscript for additional interpretations of the latter chapters.

Sections 81, 90, 107. Question: How can we reconcile the inverse sequence of events in these revelations?

Answer: In section 81, dated March 1832, Frederick G. Williams is given his duties as a counselor to the President of the High Priesthood. In section 90, verse 6, given a year later, March 1833, he is called to that position. In section 107, dated March 28, 1835, the Lord reveals in verses 65–66 that there should be a President of the High Priesthood. (By inference, any counselor to the President would be called after the office was revealed.) Hence, the sequence is just opposite of what we would expect: the position revealed, the person called, and then a delineation of his duties.

The last sentence of the introduction to section 107 alerts us that this section is really a composite of several revelations, with a portion of it written as early as November 1831. Verses 65–66 are part of that portion, and so the office of President of the High Priesthood was revealed in November 1831. Less than three months later, on January 25, 1832, at a conference of the Church at Amhurst, Ohio, Joseph Smith was sustained and ordained President of the High Priesthood (see introduction to D&C 75). Less than two months later, Joseph Smith called two counselors in the Presidency, Jesse Gause and Sidney Rigdon. [10] During the same month, on March 15, 1832, Joseph Smith received section 81 explaining to Jesse Gause, not Frederick G. Williams, his duties as a counselor (see introduction to D&C 81). Gause apostatized during the latter part of 1832, and Williams was called to replace him in March 1833 (see D&C 90:6). Then Gause’s name was removed from D&C 81 and Williams’s name was inserted. (Parenthetically, one could write in the name of a current counselor in the First Presidency because the duties apply to any of those who have served over the years.)

Though the sequence appears in the Doctrine and Covenants to be just the opposite, historical events show that the office and callings within the Presidency of the High Priesthood did take place in their proper order.

Unpublished Revelations

Several revelations have never been published, which will now be more accessible to the members of the Church through the Joseph Smith Papers Project. These include the following:

1. Revelation concerning Joseph Smith Sr., Ezra Thayre, and Frederick G. Williams. Williams, a Kirtland farmer and herb doctor, was converted by the “Lamanite Missionaries” in November 1830 and then accompanied them on their mission to Missouri. Land records for Kirtland in 1830 show Williams owning 75 and 67 acres respectively in two adjacent 105–acre “blocks.” Before leaving for Missouri in the fall of 1830, Williams apparently made his property available to the Church for its purposes. Although Joseph Smith did not meet Williams until July 1831, when he arrived in Missouri to dedicate the place for the New Jerusalem (see section 57), this revelation advises the Prophet to utilize some of the Williams’s farmland in specific ways.

In late August 1831, when Joseph Smith returned from Missouri, land problems involving Williams, Ezra Thayre, and Joseph Smith Sr. needed resolution. A revelation received on September 11 (D&C 64:21) further addressed those problems. Finally, at a conference of elders held in Kirtland on October 10, 1831, matters were resolved. Only the decisions, not the details, of the dispute survive in conference minutes. The Church was to provide the Williams family with a comfortable dwelling. Joseph Smith Sr. was to oversee to the management of the farm and the distribution of its products. The Thayre family could remain where they were until spring. And the conference reproved both the Prophet’s father and Ezra Thayre “for the unwise course they have taken in this affair.” That solutions were not easily reached is revealed by the decision that Thayre “be sharply rebuked for the disrespect with which he had treated this conference.” The conference authorized bishop’s agent Newel K. Whitney (see D&C 63:42–45) to present the Williams family’s case “before the church” and ensure they were provided with comfortable dwellings “according to the commandment of the Lord,” wording that clearly refers to this revelation. [11]

2. Oliver Cowdery’s Articles of the Church of Christ. This is a three—page manuscript in Oliver Cowdery’s handwriting quoting extensively from the Book of Mormon, particularly from the book of Moroni. The document begins, “A commandment from God unto Oliver how he should build up his church & the manner thereof,” and concludes with the words, “Written in the year of our Lord & Saviour 1829—A true copy of the articles of the Church of Christ.” [12]

This document has an unmistakable connection to section 20, the Articles and Covenants of the Church of Christ. All of the quotations and paraphrasing from the Book of Mormon in this document are also found in section 20.

In early June 1829, with the translation of the Book of Mormon almost finished and an awareness of recent revealed declarations that Christ’s church would again be established on earth, Joseph Smith dictated a revelation containing “instructions relative to building up the church of Christ, according to the fulness of the gospel” (D&C 18). Part of the revelation was directed to Oliver Cowdery. He was instructed to lead in preaching the gospel, having received “that same calling with which [Paul] was called” (D&C 18:9), and, in anticipation of the future “building up the church of Christ,” he also seems to have been invited to prepare a précis of Church polity by “rely[ing] upon the things . . . written” in the Book of Mormon.

3. Evidently a revelation was received relative to obtaining the copyright of the Book of Mormon in Canada, hence in all the United Kingdom. The text of this revelation has never been available, so those who have written about it have had to argue with incomplete facts. We can now shed additional light on this revelation that has never been published before. Further explanation will have to wait until the volume is published.

4. There is a supposed revelation dated July 17, 1831, in which the elders of the Church are invited to intermarry with the “Lamanites.” It is a reconstruction made thirty years later with many anachronistic inconsistencies. In the Joseph Smith Papers Project, this revelation is printed only in the appendix because its provenance cannot be satisfactorily established. Arguments accompany the document in the appendix showing the reasons for rejecting it as it is written.

Conclusion

The volumes of the Joseph Smith Papers Project will be published over the course of a decade or more. Fortunately, the first two volumes of the Documents Series, which contain most of the revelations, will be among the early publications. Well—documented evidence and details in those volumes will verify what we have surveyed here as well as many topics beyond the scope of this paper. Future students and researchers will have the most comprehensive resource concerning the reception, recording, and publishing of the revelations ever available. Though scholarly in presentation, those who acknowledge Joseph Smith as a prophet of God will also find in these volumes much evidence to confirm their faith.

Notes

[1] Personal communication, Royal Skousen. For more information, see his History of the Text of the Book of Mormon, volume 3 of the critical text of the Book of Mormon (forthcoming from the Maxwell Institute at BYU).